


Loki and the Beast

by orphan_account



Category: Thor (2011)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-27
Updated: 2011-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-28 06:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/304518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Locked away and transformed into a hideous beast for his arrogance, Thor must wait for the one to break the spell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loki and the Beast

**Author's Note:**

> While I understand in the comics Don Blake is Thor's alter ego, in the movie he was mentioned as an ex-boyfriend of Jane's, and that's how I portrayed him here - as a separate person.

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter’s night, he sneaked away to attack Jotun, the kingdom with whom his father had a shaky alliance. Caught by his father, the prince claimed he was in the right, but his father warned him, arrogance would turn him into a monster, for inner strength is more important than muscle. And when the prince called his father a fool, the king turned his staff towards his son and told him he was unworthy. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for he had seen that there was no love in his heart and as punishment, he transformed him into a hideous beast and isolated him in a faraway castle and all his companions. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. His hammer was enchanted by his father and would glow for twenty one years. If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return before the light went out, then, the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?

 

The sun rose across the warm western land. Loki stepped out of his small home with a book in hand. He walked towards the buildings where people were just waking from their sleep. “Little town - It’s a quiet village. Everyday like the one before. Little town full of little people waking up to say – “

“Hello!”

“Bonjour!”

“Hello!”

“Hello!”

“Hello!”

“There goes the baker with his tray like always – the same old bread and rolls to sell. Every morning just the same since the morning that I came to this poor, provincial town.”

“Good morning, Loki!”

“Morning, monsieur.”

“Where you off to?”

“The book store. I just finished studying this magic book. It has spells and enchantments-“

“That’s nice,” he interrupted, “Marie, the baguettes, hurry up!”

“Look there he goes that boy is strange no question. He’s quite distracted, can’t you tell?”

“Never part of any crowd.”

“’Cause his head’s up on some cloud.”

“No denying he’s a funny guy that Loki.”

“Hello!”

“Good day! How is your family?”

“Bonjour!”

“Good day.”

“How is your wife?”

“I need six eggs!”

“That’s too expensive!”

“There must be more than this provincial life.”

“Ah, Loki.”

“Good morning. I’ve come to return the book I borrowed.”

“Finished already?”

“Oh, I couldn’t put it down. Have you got anything new?”

“Not since yesterday!”

“That’s all right. I’ll borrow this one.”

“That one? But you’ve read it twice!”

“Well, it’s my favorite. The best spells, the best incantations…”

“Well, if you like it all that much, it’s yours.”

“But sir-“

“I insist.”

“Well, thank you. Thank you very much!”

“Look, there he goes, that boy is so peculiar. I wonder if he’s feeling well.”

“With a dreaming for a look.”

“And his nose stuck in a book.”

“What a puzzle to the rest of us is Loki.”

“Now, isn’t this amazing? It’s my favorite spell because you’ll see. It would me how to leave this little town. But I can’t translate chapter three.”

“Now it’s no wonder that he’s named after the mischief god. He’s practically a witch.”

“Behind that fair façade, I’m afraid he’s rather odd. Very different from the rest of us-“

“He’s nothing like the rest of us-“

“Yes, different from the rest of us is Loki.”

“Wow! You didn’t miss a shot, Don!”

“I know.”

“You’re the greatest doctor in the whole world!”

“I know.”

“No disease alive stands a chance against you. And no girl for that matter!”

“It’s true, and I’ve got my sights set on that one.”

“Jane’s roommate?”

“He’s the lucky guy I’m going to marry.”

“But he’s-“

“The most attractive man in town.”

“I know-“

“That makes him the best. And don’t I deserve the best?”

“Well, of course, I mean, you do, but-“

“Right from the moment when I met him…saw him. I said he’s gorgeous and I fell. Here in town as old as he, who is beautiful as me? So, I’m making plans to woo and marry Loki.”

“Look there he goes! Isn’t he dreamy? Doctor Don Blake – oh, he’s so cute! Be still my heart! I’m barely breathing! He’s such a tall, dark, strong, and handsome brute!

“There must be more than this provincial life.”

“Just watch, I’m going to make Loki my wife.”

“Look there he goes, that boy is strange but special. A most peculiar Laufeyson. It’s a pity and a sin – he doesn’t quite fit in. But he really is a funny boy. A beauty, but a funny boy. He really is a funny boy that Loki.”

“Hello, Loki.”

“Hello, Don,” Loki said politely, barely glancing up from his book. This seemed to bother Don, who grabbed the book from his hands. “Don, can I have my book back, please?”

“How can you read this? You’re supposed to be a scientist.” He held the book sideways, as if doing so would help him understand the material better.

“Well, some people aren’t confined to the categories to which society assigns science and what it deems magic.” He really didn’t want to explain it to a Midgardian.

“Loki, it’s time you got your head out of this magic stuff and focused on more important things. Like me,” Don tossed the book behind him on the ground. Loki frowned and knelt down to pick it up. He dusted it off and stood again as Don continued talking. “The whole town is talking about it. It’s not right for someone to practice magic. Soon you’ll start killing cats and worshipping Satan.”

“Don, you are positively primeval,” Loki snorted, but Don smiled and replied smoothly.

“Why, thank you, Loki,” he clearly knew what the word meant, but wasn’t going to let himself feel insulted. This annoyed Loki even more. “Why don’t you come over to my place and take a look at my degrees and thank you notes from patients?”

“Maybe some other time.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s crazy!”

“Don’s gorgeous!”

“Please, Don, I can’t,” he tried to continue being polite, thought it was getting difficult, “I have to get back home to help Jane with her research.”

“That crazy girl? She needs all the help she can get!”

“Don’t talk about Jane that way!” Now, he was getting pissed off. “Jane is not crazy! She’s a genius!” Loki stormed off, leaving Don to glare angrily at his back.

 

“Loki! I think I’m on to something!”

“Finally coming up with something for the conference?”

“Something worth presenting!” She replied enthusiastically, pouring over the papers on her desk as he sat down beside her. He glanced over her work appreciatively. “I’ve got to go to the library! I’ve got to go to the conference! This is…” she jumped to her feet and hugged Loki. “This is incredible!”

“You’re incredible, Jane,” he smiled back and she kissed his forehead.

“I’ll be back in a few days,” she ran into her room and came back with her hastily zipped up suitcase.

 

“Where am I? I must have missed a turn somewhere…” she mumbled to herself as she drove down the dark road through the desert. She finally screeched to a halt and pulled out her gps. However, the little machine was glitching, it seemed, so she turned to her cell phone. “No signal,” she sighed. “Where did I end up?”

There was a light shining through her window now. She almost thought it was another car, but up in the sky, a bright aurora was glowing across the sky. Her heart jumped to her throat and she leapt out of her car, grabbing her phone to record the phenomenon. As she walked closer, a sudden stream of light struck her and lifted her from the ground. Before she could have any desperate notions about alien abductions, she was thrown through the sky. It felt like she was travelling at warp speed – like on Star Trek, flailing through space until she was dropped rather roughly (though it could be considered delicately considering the speed she had been travelling) right in front of a gate.

As soon as she could, she got to her feet and looked around. It was a dark plain surrounding her – like night on a desert. She would have thought she’d been transported elsewhere near her car, save for the looming castle before her. She hesitated, but saw no other hints as to where she’d been thrown and pushed through the gate. Once again, Jane checked her phone – no signal. In fact, the phone appeared to be dead. Interesting. It had been fully charged before she left. As her last resort, she banged on the tall wooden door of the castle. It shifted open on its own and she nervously stepped inside. She’d seen way too many horror movies to know this wasn’t good. “Hello? Is anyone there? I don’t mean to intrude, but…” her voice dropped to a whisper, “I got dropped here by a beam of light? I can’t really phrase that without seeming like a crazy person.”

She heard something that sounded like whispering to her right and jumped. “Hello?” She called again.

“Of course, my lady, you are welcome here.”

Jane looked around, but still only saw a candelabra and a clock on the table next to her. “Who said that?” She asked, peering through a dark doorway.

“Me. Right here.”

She glanced back, still only seeing the inanimate objects in the entrance hall, where the voice seemed to be coming from.

“Right here.”

The voice said again and she tilted her head, watching the candelabra. Suddenly, it moved and Jane jumped, almost letting out a small scream, but she stifled it. “Oh my god. You can talk?”

“Oh, now you’ve done it, Fandral. Splendid,” the clock seemed to say to the candelabra. “Just peachy.”

“How is this accomplished?” She leaned down and examined the clock.

“What are you looking at?”

“Be nice, Sif. Look, she’s lost. And she seems like a perfectly nice girl. She can stay for a short time.”

“Stay? But I just want to get back to where I was.”

“Well, I’m afraid you can only do that when the Bifrost opens. We’ll have to wait for it to open again.”

“The…Bifrost?” She asked slowly, not understanding the word. However, she was offered no explanation as she was led into a parlor.

“No, Fandral! You know what Thor will do if he finds her here!”

“He can’t turn down a beautiful girl,” Fandral smiled back at the clock as Jane took an offered seat.

“How would you like some food? Tea, maybe?”

Jane jumped when she realized the teapot on the end table was talking to her in an uncharacteristically gruff voice. Then again, what was uncharacteristic for a teapot’s voice? “Umm…that would be nice, yeah. If you have any coffee?”

“Of course! Anything for a guest!”

“No, no coffee!” The clock snapped.

Suddenly the door behind her swung open and the air seemed to go cold. She felt her stomach clench as someone…no, something entered the room. Its shadow fell across her and the inanimate objects around her seemed to shake in fear.

It seemed to growl deeply as it approached, it’s voice almost a growl itself as it spoke. “There’s a stranger here-“

“Thor, allow me to explain. The Bifrost brought the girl here and-“

The thing roared violently, so loud it hurt Jane’s ears. She cringed and tried to curl into herself, as if appearing smaller would allow him to disappear from its sights.

It came over to her in the darkness and Jane almost screamed when it came into the light of the fire. It was a large hairy… beast. It had sharp fangs and tusk-like teeth. It had curled black horns and claws and hunched over like an ape. “Why are you here?”

“I don’t know-“ she stammered, “I- I was just driving to a conference and I-“

“You are not welcome here!” It roared, causing Jane to jump out of the seat and back towards the door.

“I’m sorry-“ she watched him as she backed away, feeling frozen with fear. She couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away and he noticed.

“What are you staring at?”

“I don’t mean to-“

“So, you’ve come to stare at the beast, have you?”

“I meant no harm! I just want to go home!”

“You’re never going home!” The thing wrapped its claws around the fabric of her shirt and lifted her off her feet, dragging her into the darkness of the castle.

 

Loki was attempting to translate the third chapter of the book he’d just received when there was a loud knock at the door. He quickly memorized his spot and walked to the door, glancing through the peephole. He could see Don Blake’s wide grin taking up most of his view. Loki sighed and rolled his eyes before opening the door. “Don, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Isn’t it, though? I’m full of surprises,” he waltzed right into Loki’s house and started looking around. “You know, Loki, there’s not a girl – or guy – in town that wouldn’t love to be in your shoes.”

Loki raised an eyebrow, his expression remaining otherwise skeptical and flat.

“This is the day all your dreams come true.”

Hardly. Loki thought to himself and folded his arms over his chest. “What do you know about my dreams, Don?” Did he really have any dreams? Specifically, at least. He couldn’t go back to Jotunheim…where he was considered undesirable. And he found that Midgardians also deemed him…undesirable. He’d never been to Asgard, but he’d already lived in both Jotunheim and the “neutral ground,” so maybe the mortal enemy’s territory was what he needed. He just wanted to be somewhere where he could be himself without being ostracized. Don was now sitting at Loki’s dinner table and leaning back in the chair. He threw his feet up on top of Loki’s book. Loki almost lost it when it did so, but managed to reel in his temper. He had to be polite. He couldn’t lose it because of this obnoxious Midgardian.

“Picture this – a nice big house. My latest paycheck giving us a nice big dinner. My pretty husband massaging my feet,” he wiggled his boots and Loki tried to resist making a disgusted expression, “while the little ones play on the floor with the dogs. We’ll have six or seven, you know.”

Loki had almost been paying attention to Don’s story – he’d mostly been imagining all the ways he could torment the man if he were permitted. “Dogs?” He asked, stalling to figure out a way to get rid of the man without turning him inside out with magic.

“Adopted kids. To show my goodwill.”

“Imagine that,” Loki scoffed and swiped his book as soon as Don dropped his feet from the table.

“And do you know who that husband will be?”

Oh, by the gods, did he really have to put up with this? Was this his life now? Fighting off obnoxious Midgardian suitors and reading magic books? Getting groceries and pretending he wasn’t about to be driven out of the town by an angry mob? “Let me think-“ he said sarcastically, but Don cut him off.

“You, Loki.”

Loki backed away from him and realized he was backing toward the door. Plan made. “Don, I’m speechless. I really don’t know what to say,” he mimicked a blushing bride in the best way he could. Don seemed to eat it up and approached Loki, trapping Loki against the door with his hands.

“Say you’ll marry me.”

“I’m very sorry, Don, but I-“ he searched for the doorknob. “I just don’t deserve you,” he twisted and followed the door so Don fell flat on his face outside. Loki gave him a smartass smile and a little wave before slamming the door shut and locking it. “Dammit,” he sighed to himself and ran a hand through his hair.

“Is he gone?” He wondered to no one in particular after a moment and peered out the peep hole again. After seeing the area clear, he slammed his book shut and scowled to himself. “Can you imagine? He asked me to marry him! Me! The husband of that boorish, asinine-“ he clenched his fist angrily and started throwing things around the kitchen in a vague attempt to clean. “Mr. Loki Blake, can’t you just see it?” he snorted to himself as he threw dirty dishes in the sink. “Mr. Loki Blake, his little wife,” he wouldn’t be anyone’s “little woman,” which was exactly how Don Blake treated the people he dated. He knew well enough from Jane’s experience. She too had been lured in my his good-looks and professional success. “No sir, not me,” he would never ever date that arrogant man. “I guarantee it.”

He glanced out the window at the stretching desert beyond the town. He wanted much more than the life he had. He’d just gone from one wasteland to another. He wanted adventure in the great, wide somewhere. He wanted it more than he could tell. “And for once, it might be grand,” he sighed, sliding onto the couch. “To have someone understand. I want so much more than they’ve got planned.”

The phone rang, startling him. He picked it up quickly and was informed that Jane’s car had been found in the middle of nowhere, but Jane herself was missing.

Fuck.

She was the only friend he had. He had to find her. Loki found out where her car had been discovered and dropped some cash to rent a car of his own. He ended up in the middle of nowhere just as the sun had set over the horizon. He figured himself close to her position and got out of the car. He saw tire track in the dirt, but apparently the car had been towed. What could have gotten to her in the middle of nowhere? If it had been coyotes, she would have stayed in the car. Did she run out of gas? Did the car break down? Was she wandering the desert.

Just as he was about to get back in the car, he felt a strange hum in the air and a bright light filled up the sky. As he looked up, his stomach dropped – it couldn’t be… A light surged down and grabbed him from his secure position on the ground. He was soaring through the air – through space – through Yggdrasil – when he realized.

The Bifrost.

He was deposited in front of a gate three times as tall as he was. “Damn,” he murmured quietly. He glanced around, but the landscape was barren save for a castle. Was he in Asgard? It looked as deplorable as Jotunheim and Midgard, if it was. He’d always heard tales of its beauty and extravagance. What was this place?

Obviously, Jane would have done the only logical thing in this situation – gone to the castle. Perhaps logical if attempting to find help or an explanation, but not necessarily logical for protection. Loki scanned the area to make sure it was empty before entering the gates and approaching the door. He opened it as quietly as a creaky castle door would allow and remained silent, figuring if whoever lived there was keeping Jane captive or had killed her, he would meet the same fate if he was announced. He left the empty entrance hall and headed up the main set of stairs sprawling in front of him, treading lightly. Where would one keep the prison? Either below ground or in a high, isolated tower. Since he had seen the stairs leading upwards first, he followed them to one of the towers.

When he started up the spiraling staircase towards it, he realized he must have been in the right place, considering the hard stone walls, the utter lack of décor, and the harsh lighting. He came to the top of the tower and saw large wooden doors with low-lying slots, probably for feeding. “Jane?” he whispered and heard a voice respond in the dark.

“Loki?”

He ran over to the door the voice came from and saw Jane peering through the slot.

“How did you find me?”

“I’m going to get you out of there,” Loki didn’t bother to answer the question. He had to get her out quickly. If they were Asgardians, he could be killed on sight.

“No, Loki. You have to go! Now!”

Loki ignored her and started working the lock on the door, attempting to break it. “I won’t leave you.”

“Who goes there?!” He heard a voice roar and Loki jumped, backing against the door.

“Run, Loki!” Jane shouted, but Loki stayed against the door, trying to identify who had spoken to him.

“I’ve come for my friend,” he replied calmly. “If you’ll just let me take her, we’ll leave here and won’t bother you again.”

“She shouldn’t have trespassed here!”

“Look, just let her go. She’s Midgardian,” the individual in the dark room must have also been from one of the other worlds. “She can’t stay here,” when the other person was silent, Loki added, “I’ll do anything you ask.” Perhaps a bad idea looking back on it, but Jane was his best friend – his only friend – and he couldn’t let his world crash into hers.

“There’s nothing you can do. She’s my prisoner.”

“Take me instead,” Loki said suddenly – if Loki were the type to blurt, that would have been it. But he was desperate. All this had to have something to do with him. What sort of coincidence would it be that his only friend on Midgard would be taken by the Bifrost? He couldn’t let her get hurt because of him.

“No!” The other exclaimed quickly, but there was a pause and the gruff voice softened. “You would take his place?”

Aha. Hit a note there. Negotiations were on.

“Loki! No! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“If I did,” Loki started, “would you let her go?” Had to be clear. He’d yet to meet a species that was incapable of deceit.

“Yes,” the now soft voice affirmed. “But you must promise to stay here forever.”

Really? Forever? Loki rolled his eyes internally. He could get out of that. Talk his way out of it – escape. Not a big deal. Loki was as good with promises as he expected everyone else to be. Meaning they were always broken. However, he had to show some hesitance, as if he were really considering the weight of the offer and steeling himself to make such a big promise. “Let me see you in the light,” he said slowly. He was curious as to what species he was involved with.

A torch was lit and slowly illuminated the person standing in front of him. He had a dark coat of fur and tusks, clearly not any species he’d ever dealt with, but what Loki noticed the most were the bright blue eyes staring back at him. He was surprised, but not particularly scared. However, he had a sneaking suspicion the individual staring back at him didn’t know Loki’s species, so he feigned fear and gasped, once again backing into the door.

“Loki! I can’t let you do this!” Jane said desperately, but Loki stepped forward, looking him straight in the eyes.

“You have my word.”

“Done!” The beast snapped and ripped open Jane’s door. He grabbed the girl and started dragging her away.

“Wait!” She shouted, looking back at Loki as she was taken from the room.

Loki heard her shouts throughout the castle, as he stood in the cold, drafty tower. He heard the beast returning – namely heard another voice speaking to him.

“-I was just thinking, since the man is going to be here for quite some time, perhaps you should offer him a more comfortable room-“

He heard the master of the castle roar in response and the door to the tower was opened. More people were here – good to know. All monsters or was this man the only one? Had he bitten off more than he could chew this time? He’d been hoping to just deal with a cranky hermit.

Had to make this believable. Right. He remembered when the monster entered the room. Loki slumped against the wall and sat on the floor, staring at the ground. “You didn’t let me say goodbye,” he said quietly, “I’ll never see her again and you didn’t let me say goodbye.”

In his peripheral vision, he saw the blue eyes soften and look away, as if he was second guessing himself. Okay, so the beast was actually a softie with a temper problem, not a complete monster. That was something he could get around easily. He covered his face with one hand, to make it seem as if he was crying.

“I’ll show you to your room,” the beast said in a much less angry voice, almost as if he was trying to cover up guilt. Good. Good.

“My room?” Loki asked, still feigning the damsel. “But I thought-“

“Do you want to stay here in the tower?” He snapped in response and Loki decided arguing would be counterproductive. Of course he didn’t want to say in the tower. He was led out of the prison tower and down dark, intimidating hallways. Well, he couldn’t give the beast any credit for decorating. Half of the décor seemed geared towards making the place look even creepier.

As they were walking in silence, Loki was considering his options. Perhaps he could get the beast to let him go. Unlikely, but worth a shot considering the glimpses into his humane side. It’d be the safest, but most difficult way to go. Running away was risky considering he didn’t know how the Bifrost operated and he was likely to get torn to shreds if caught.

“I hope you like it here,” the beast said suddenly. Loki raised an eyebrow curiously at the response – was he trying to be nice now? “This is your home now, so you can go anywhere you like. Except the west wing.”

Now the best was just enticing his curiosity. “What’s in the west wing?”

“It’s forbidden!” The beast snapped back and Loki fell silent. What a reaction. Now he had to know what was in the west wing.

The beast opened a door and directed Loki inside. He glanced briefly around the spacious bedroom when the beast said suddenly: “You will join me for dinner. That’s not a request!” He slammed the door behind Loki, who snorted to himself.

“He needs to work on his people skills,” he said to no one in particular.

There was a knocking at the door, causing Loki to jump from his seat on the bed. “Who is it?”

“Volstagg.”

As if that answered his fucking question. Regardless, Loki opened the door and watched a teapot on a tray zoom in. He glanced back out the door, looking for the person who had pushed it when the teapot spoke to him.

“I heard we had an Asgardian in the castle. I had to come see.”

Loki stared at the teapot – sizing it…him up. A beast, talking teapots…

“He doesn’t seem like an Asgardian.”

Oh great. The coat rack was talking now.

“That was a very brave thing you did,” the teapot Volstagg commented.

“We all think so,” the coat rack affirmed.

“All?” Loki asked. Did all of the inanimate objects talk? That could be bad for an escape plan…and create some rather interesting situations.

“His royal highness wants the pale Asgardian to come down for dinner,” a walking clock said with a hint of sarcasm as it entered. This one was female, at least judging from the voice.

“I’m not going to dinner.” He’d already made up his mind the moment the beast had demanded he come to dinner. He had a bit of a defiant streak and he wasn’t going to let some hermit in a castle boss him around.

“What?”

“You heard me. I’m not going.”

“But you have to-“

“I may be his prisoner, but I’m not his slave. I don’t have to do anything he says.”

The clock looked at him and disappeared from the room. Loki looked the door before he sat back down on the bed and waited patiently to hear the storming of footsteps down the hallway.

There was a heavy pounding on the door – testing the strength of the lock and the hinges. “Why won’t you come to dinner?!”

“I’m not hungry!” Loki yelled back childishly. Sometimes, he really got joy out of pissing people off.

“You come out now or I’ll break down the door!”

Loki heard a voice talking to the beast outside of his door, but couldn’t make out the exact words. However, he could hear the beast’s rumbling response.

“But he’s being so difficult!”

The voice said something to him again and the beast let out a long sigh before asking in a calm measured voice: “Will you please come down to dinner?”

Growing more delighted by the moment and the beast’s frustration, Loki gave him a simple “no.”

“It would give me great pleasure,” the beast’s voice was significantly more strained as he spoke, “if you would join me for dinner.” There was a long pause before “…please.”

Oh, Loki could just laugh in merriment, but he kept his voice angry and even. “No, thank you.”

Now the beast lost it – what an easy temper he had. “You can’t say in there forever!”

“Yes, I can,” Loki said almost tauntingly.

“Fine! Then go ahead and STARVE!” He roared back and then yelled to someone else. ”If he doesn’t eat with me, then he doesn’t eat at all!” There was a loud roar and a crash as the beast stormed away.

 

“I ask him nicely, but he refuses! What does he want me to do? Beg?” Thor crashed through the doors of the west wing, ignoring the destroyed furniture to pick up the mirror. “Show me the guest.”

“Well, he’s not really so bad once you get to know him,” Volstagg was saying to the pale man. “Why don’t you give him a chance?”

“I don’t want to get to know him. I don’t want anything to do with him.”

“I’m just fooling myself. He’ll never see me as anything but a monster. It’s hopeless.”

 

That night, feeling unusually hungry, Loki snuck out of his room, which was absent from talking objects as far as he could tell. He started glancing around for the kitchen and treaded lightly through the hallways. He finally heard voices in a room and opened the door quietly.

“But if he doesn’t learn to control his temper, he’ll never break the-“

The clock coughed loudly over the teapot’s words, seeing Loki enter the room. “Good to see you again. I’m Sif.” She was shoved out of the way by a candelabra she hadn’t seen before. “This is Fandral.”

“It’s so good to finally meet you. What’s your name?”

“Loki,” he responded politely. Might as well make friends out of the objects. There would be no sneaking out otherwise.

“Why are you here?” The clock, Sif, asked suspiciously.

“Admittedly, I’m a little hungry.”

“Well, then you should have eaten when you were called for dinner.”

“Sif!” Volstagg looked at her, disbelieving. “We can’t let him starve!”

“Sure we can.”

“I doubt it. He’s practically a coat rack already,” the coat rack said with perhaps a hint of irony.

“Sif, we can’t allow him to feel unwelcome here,” the odd emphasis in Fandral’s voice alerted Loki to something else strange going on. If he could figure out what it was, he could probably use it to his advantage, but it seemed like they wanted Loki to like it at the castle.

“Fine, a glass of water, some bread crust-“

“Sif!” Volstagg snapped again and the clock sighed. “Don’t worry, Loki, we won’t let you go hungry.”  
Loki ate his fill from the cupboards before leaving the kitchen, much to the concern of the others.

“Where are you going?”

“To look around. I’m allowed to look around, aren’t I?” Loki glanced back at them, but Sif and Fandral insisted on going with him.

“We can’t have him poking around in places he’s not supposed to-“ Sif said and Fandral offered to show him around. Loki accepted, figuring it would be easy to shake the two easily.

As they approached the west side of the castle, Loki started wandering towards the west wing, only to be stopped by Fandral and Sif. “What’s up there?” He asked innocently when they blocked his place.

“Nothing.”

“Absolutely nothing at all of interest in the west wing,” Fandral added, “Dusty. Dull. Very boring.”

“Ah, so that’s the west wing.”

“Nice going,” Sif muttered to Fandral as quickly blocked Loki’s path again as he tried to walk past them.

“I wonder what he’s hiding up there,” Loki wondered aloud to keep the pair on their toes. Perhaps they would blurt something important.

“Uhh…hiding? He’s hiding nothing.”

“Then it wouldn’t be forbidden,” Loki countered and his path was blocked again.

“Perhaps you would like to see something else? Tapestries? The gardens? The library?”

Admittedly, the last one actually caught Loki’s interest. Imagine what sorts of books an Asgardian, if that’s what this was, library. “The library? You have a library?”

Seeing an opportunity to divert Loki’s attention, the pair began singing praise of their library. They started marching away and Loki followed them, however, an opportunity presented itself. Though it was not originally his plan, the pair was now distracted and trotting down the hallway, leaving the west wing unblocked and Loki unsupervised. He was interested in the library, but he was more curious about the west wing. He glanced back at the pair to make sure they weren’t watching and silently treaded up the stairs.

The further he got, the more ruined the place became. It seemed as if the place had been abandoned – tapestries were torn from the walls, there was a thick layer of dust on the furniture, and most of the objects seemed to be broken in some manner. Loki glanced at his reflection in a broken mirror as he passed through the eerie halls. He came upon a set of doors as tall as the vaulted ceiling and cautiously tried the beast-shaped handle.

The door opened with a slight creak, revealing a heavily damaged room. It looked like a crime scene more than a room in a castle. The tapestries and curtains weren’t just torn – they were shredded. Pictures were barely hanging onto the walls, if they weren’t on the floor, and the fractured pieces of a bust lay on the ground. He nearly tripped over a fallen table as he approached the remains of a bed. The mattress was merely layers of cloth and feather now and every bed post was broken. He slowly turned from the tattered bed and saw a large, torn portrait right across from it. It still hung on the wall crookedly like many of the others, but something about it drew Loki to it.

There was something familiar about that face – about those shining blue eyes, but as he lifted a piece of the canvas to hold it back together, he noticed something glowing out of the corner of his eye. There was a hammer placed on the only upright table in the room, right in front of the balcony. It glowed with a strange blue hue and Loki was drawn to it. He slowly reached forward to touch it – to see the faint inscription on the side when a shadow fell across him. He jumped and looked up to see the beast silhouetted in the window. He surged forward and stood between Loki and the hammer, almost protectively.

“Why did you come here?” He asked in a low, dangerous voice.

Okay, not good. “I’m sorry,” he offered, hoping to draw out of the humane side of the beast.

“I told you never to come here!” The beast advanced on him and Loki gripped blindly for ideas.

“I got lost,” he made up excuses, “I didn’t mean to-“

“Do you realize what you could have done?!”

What did he mean by that? Loki didn’t have time to contemplate as the beast slashed at a wooden wardrobe, tossing debris across the room.

“GET OUT!”

Loki didn’t need to be told twice. He ran from the room before the beast shredded him to pieces like he was doing to the furniture in his room. He passed Fandral and Sif as he ran through the front door. Okay, he needed a plan, though thinking on his feet had never been his forte. He much preferred to have ideas ready. Run outside into a barren wasteland? Where would he go? He threw open the front gates and slowed significantly as he tried to get his thoughts together. Maybe the Bifrost opened regularly and he’d just have to wait. Maybe the wasteland was actually on a world and he could find civilization if he kept walking. However, the ifs and maybes would have to wait, considering the vicious growling surrounding him.

At first, he thought the beast had caught him, but it was bears…or wolves big enough to be bears, it seemed, surrounding him. Okay, so the beast had extra security around the castle it seemed, but was that to keep something out or to keep something in?

Now was not the time to be pondering that as one of the wolves lunged towards him. Loki quickly hit it away with magic, but now they were all advancing on him. He tried to dispose of them each quickly, but there were far too many of them. One managed to get his ankle before he realized how close it had gotten. He cursed inwardly as he was pushed to the ground by a wolf. He still tried to get them off as they swarmed over him, but as quickly as they had come, the weight was lifted off him.

The beast was there – pulling the wolves off Loki and throwing them far away. They were now attacking the beast, clamping down anywhere they could find skin. Loki jumped to his feet and threw a few of them off the best with magic, but by the time they managed to chase the wolves away, plenty of damage had been done. The beast looked at Loki, almost as if to assure himself he was okay, before collapsing on the ground.

Loki turned to leave, both threats having been neutralized, but hesitated… the beast had saved his life. That was more than anyone had ever done for him. Granted, he had a pretty ugly temper, but that wasn’t much of a reason to just leave him lying there. But if he returned now, it would almost be a voluntary imprisonment. He had his chance to escape, even though it was a pretty piss poor idea, but going back now…?

Finally, Loki’s weakness for daring heroes won out and he carried the beast back to the castle, with magic of course, and began to heal him. The four objects watched over him as he did so, but they kept their distance. The beast had regained consciousness shortly, but Loki was still working on his wounds as the beast scowled at him. Loki supposed he did have that right – Loki was partially to blame for his injuries, which was why he chose to heal them.

“That hurt!” The beast snapped when Loki examined one of the wounds.

“If you held still it wouldn’t hurt as much!” He shouted back, trying to keep the beast from squirming.

“If it wasn’t for you, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“If you hadn’t gone beserk and tried to kill me, I wouldn’t have run away!”

“Well, you shouldn’t have been in the west wing!”

“Well, you should learn to control your temper!” Loki stared him down as they argued, but the beast finally fell silent. “Hold still,” Loki instructed and after a pause added, “by the way, thank you for saving my life.” He supposed the beast did deserve that.

 

Thor was watching Loki walk through the snow-ridden gardens one day. He didn’t seem particularly interested – more involved in his own thoughts than anything. He had been thinking about a lot of things – about the spell, Loki healing him… He would have been wary of Loki’s magic had he not used it to help Thor. No one had helped Thor in a long time. Should he thank Loki? It had been Loki’s fault he’d gotten hurt in the first place, but Thor understood that Loki could have left him to die. He could have made his escape, but he chose imprisonment to help Thor.

The Asgardian was unusually quiet, but he was one of the few people ever to attempt to put Thor in his place. He kind of liked both aspects of the magician. “I want to do something for him, but I don’t know what,” he commented to Sif and Fandral, who were with him.

“Well, there’s the usual: flowers, chocolates, promises you don’t intend to keep,” Sif offered.

“No. It has to be something special. Something that sparks his interest.”

Thor felt bad for his friends being in this situation with him. He had to break this spell – if not for himself, then for his friends. He had to make it work with Loki. Considering the time he had left, he didn’t have another option available to him. Surprisingly, though, he wasn’t that upset about his last hope.

“I know!” Fandral exclaimed suddenly and told Thor exactly what he should do. Fandral was much better at the romance thing than he, so he listened to Fandral’s advice and pulled Loki from breakfast the next day.

“Loki, I have something I want to show you. But first, you have to close your eyes.” he said as Loki followed him to the library. The other man looked skeptical. “It’s a surprise,” he explained and though Loki didn’t look convinced, he closed his eyes anyways. Thor opened the doors and grabbed one of Loki’s hands.

Loki flinched at the contact, but didn’t pull away as Thor led him inside. “Wait here,” Thor directed.

“Can I open my eyes?”

“Not yet,” Thor said and threw the large draperies open to illuminate the vast library. Once he had done so, he turned back to Loki, who was standing at the center of the room with his eyes closed. “All right. Now.”

Loki slowly opened his eyes and as he took in his surroundings, his eyes widened significantly and he turned in circles, craning his neck to see all the books surrounding him. “By the gods,” he breathed, “I’ve never seen so many books in all my life,” he said quietly and reached for a desk chair to fall into.

“You like it?”

“It’s-it’s…yes,” he nodded and Thor smiled.

“Then it’s yours.”

“Thank you,” Loki said slowly and looked back at him.

 

The winter grew colder, but Loki couldn’t help but feel oddly warmer. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. Was he almost…happy there? Oh god, was he happy in his captivity? But it wasn’t that. Here Loki felt…almost normal. All things considered, he was the most normal of the company surrounding him. But it was more than that. He felt accepted. Liked. Wanted. It was a feeling he’d never experienced before.

And the beast…the beast was different. He wasn’t constantly angry or guarded.

“Loki, I found this spellbook. I thought you might be interested in it.”

Loki glanced down at the familiar binding on the proffered book and took it from him lightly. “This is my favorite book. I haven’t quite translated all of it-“

“You can’t read Asgardian?”

“Not completely,” Loki admitted, but rather than ask why, Thor offered:

“I could translate it for you.”

There was something sweet, and almost kind, but he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined. But now he was dear, and so unsure. I wonder why I didn’t see it there before.

 

Loki was sifting through a large wardrobe in one of the rooms, looking for clothes in his size to wear. Thor offered him a green shirt and as Loki took it from him, their hands brushed against each other. Loki disappeared from the room with the clothes, but a pair of light colored eyes flickered back to him.  
He glanced this way, Thor thought he saw. And when they touched, he didn’t shudder at my paw. No, it can’t be. He would just have to ignore, but then he’s never looked at me that way before.

 

They were walking through the snow drifts in the gardens, but Loki couldn’t help but glance at the beast every few seconds. After several minutes in silence, Loki disappeared around the side of a tree and leaned against it while the beast was examining something on one of the garden walls.

This feeling was new and a bit…alarming. Who’d have ever thought that this could be? True that he was no prince charming, but there was something in him that he simply didn’t see.

Seeing his back still turned, Loki pointed his finger and directed a snowball at the beast’s back. The beast seemed shocked for a moment before attempting to reciprocate, relying on brute strength as he always did while Loki relied on stealth and magic to target the beast. Loki sent a particularly powerful snowball at the beast, knocking him off his feet. Loki, concerned when he didn’t get up, ran over to him.

“You are a worthy foe,” the beast declared excitedly and Loki couldn’t help but genuinely smile.  
There may be something there that wasn’t there before.

 

“Tonight is the night!” Fandral declared as Thor got ready for dinner with Loki.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Thor said in an uncharacteristically nervous fashion.

“There is no time to be timid!” Fandral glanced at Mjolnir pointedly. “You must be bold! Daring!”

“Bold. Daring,” Thor repeated, looking at his reflection in a broken mirror. It had come so easily to him before. Why no longer?

“There will be music, romantic candlelight – provided by myself. And when the moment is right, you confess your love.”

“Yes, I confess my- what? Fandral, I can’t.” Did he really love Loki?

“You care for him, don’t you?”

More than anything. But did that equate love? He knew he didn’t have time to second guess himself, but he had to be sure. He’d only known Loki for a few months. Could love come that quickly? Perhaps he would have believed that once a long time ago. Hell, he would have believed love could come in mere days. But now…

And he was examining the wrong aspect of it. Surely he could fall in love with an intelligent, demure, slightly mischievous man, but could Loki really care about him the same way? He wasn’t even Asgardian.

“Your lover awaits,” Sif announced, with a bit of sarcasm, but Thor could also hear the good-natured tone in her voice.

Tale as old as time.

Thor descended the stairs to meet Loki, all dressed in green. Loki took Thor’s arm and they walked down together.

True as it can be.

“You look nice,” Loki offered politely. “I like the cape.”

Thor felt that was a jibe at his bright red cape, but he doubted Loki meant it cruelly.

Barely even friends.

“You look good, too,” Thor offered back weakly. Why couldn’t he seem to do this? He’d always done well with women, but for some reason, whenever he was around Loki, his throat just seemed to dry up.

Then somebody bends.

They sat down across from each other at dinner, more comfortably than they had done the first time.

Unexpectedly.

Loki raised his eyebrow at the music playing in the hall and stood, grabbing Thor’s hands.

Just a little change.

“What are you doing?”

Small to say the least.

Thor allowed himself to be pulled onto the dance floor and led in a dance that he quickly fell into.

Both a little scared.

“Loki, I wanted to ask you something.”

Neither one prepared.

Loki glanced up and stopped dancing. “Anything.”

Beauty and the beast.

“Loki, are you happy here with me?”

“Yes,” he hesitated in his reply.

“What’s wrong?”

“I haven’t been completely honest about who I am.”

“If you mean you’re an Asgardian, Loki, I’ve known.”

“No, I…I’ve never been to Asgard.”

Thor was confused. “What do you mean? Have you been living on Midgard?”

“Yes,” Loki said slowly, but he still seemed to be holding something back. “I miss Jane. She was my best friend. If I could just see her again.”

Was Jane his girlfriend? Why would he care so much about the Midgardian? Loki called her his best friend, but Thor was pessimistic when it came to these sorts of things. After years in isolation, he’d come to expect nothing could possibly go his way. But he needed to give Loki some consolation. “There is a way.”

Thor led Loki by his hand to the west wing and picked up the mirror from the table. He held out the magic mirror for him and Loki took it from him gingerly. “This mirror will show you anything. Anything you wish to see.”

“I’d like to see Jane,” he stated.

The mirror glowed brightly and suddenly Loki’s eyes grew wide as he looked down at the picture in front of him. Thor couldn’t see from his position

“That bastard. He’s got her locked up!” He snapped and Thor turned away from Loki. “He’s got her put in the psych ward! And I’m the only one who knows she’s not crazy!”

Thor glanced back at Loki, observing the concerned look on his face. Loki faked a lot of emotions – Thor noticed – but this one was not faked. He couldn’t let Loki’s friend get hurt…and though he didn’t want Loki to leave…He stared at his hammer sadly.

“Then you must go to her.”

“What did you say?” This astonished look, too, was genuine.

“I release you. You’re no longer my prisoner.”

“You mean, I’m free?”

“Yes. If you ever want to visit me again, go to the place where you were transported and ask Heimdall to bring you here.” He declined when Loki offered the mirror back. He took Loki’s hand in his paw and looked into his light eyes. “Take it with you. So you’ll always have a way to look back and remember me.”

“Thank you,” Loki said quietly and hurried from the room.

“Well, that evening went well,” Sif entered as soon as Loki had left the room. Thor was still on the balcony, staring out at the stars and across the barren landscape. It was strange – he was still offered the gift of the stars, even though everything else in his private slice of hell was empty.

“I let him go,” he murmured in a near whisper.

“You what?” Sif was shocked, and probably felt betrayed as well. “How could you do that?”

“I had to.”

“Yes…but…why?”

“Because I love him.”

 

Within hours, Loki was at Jane’s side in the mental facility at the hospital Don Blake worked at.  
“I’m going to get you out of here.”

“But, Loki, what about that beast? How did you escape?”

“I didn’t escape. He let me go.”

“He let you go? But he’s-“

“Not as bad as you’d think.”

“Poor Loki,” he heard a voice from the door and Loki whirled around to see Don Blake standing in the doorway.

“Get bent, Don.”

“I wouldn’t be so mean. I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding? You know Jane’s not crazy!”

“Oh, she’s certifiable. Ranting about how we need to save you from some teleporter and some beast in a castle.” Jane looked apologetic from her seat on the bed, but Loki turned his attention back to Don. “But if I put in a good word, she’s free to go.”

“And what is the price I have to pay for it.”

“You have to marry me.”

“What?” This was unbelievable! You couldn’t bribe someone into a marriage!

“One little world, Loki, that’s all it takes.”

“Never,” Loki scowled and pushed Don away.

“Fine,” Don said and started to leave the room, but Loki took one look at Jane and stopped him.

“Wait!”

“Yes?” Don asked expectantly.

“Jane’s not crazy and I can prove it,” he grabbed the magic mirror from his bag and said to it: “Show me the beast,” he turned the mirror around to show Don the image of the beast roaring against the dark sky.

Don stared at the image, almost as if he was about to believe Loki. “You expect me to believe this?”

“He’s dangerous,” Jane added quickly, “he kidnapped me and Loki.”

“No, he’s not dangerous,” Loki corrected, staring back down at the mirror. His expression softened as he thought about the time he’d spent with him earlier that day. “He’s actually kind and gentle.”

Now Don was paying attention. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had feelings for this monster.”

“He’s no monster, Don, you are.”

“You’re as crazy as Jane! You’re going to be locked in here with her!” Don snapped, but Loki grabbed his shoulder as he turned to leave.

“I’ll prove it! I’ll take you to him.” Loki wasn’t sure what he had in mind. Don wasn’t someone who could be reasoned with – even if he knew the beast to be real, he wouldn’t let Jane out and he’d probably lock Loki up, too. Perhaps if he could lose Don somewhere – in the desert…in the wastelands around the castle, he could get Jane out on his own. But it wouldn’t work if Don was going to lock Loki up, too. Still unsure of his plans, he let Don drive him out of the town.

There were possibilities, of course. Don was just a Midgardian. Loki could always kill him, but that just put a bad taste in Loki’s mouth. It was too brutal. He needed a plan. A plan that could help both him and Jane without outright killing Don or putting any blame on Loki.

Loki finally stopped him when they reached the spot. Perhaps Loki could knock him out and then drive away… “Get out of the car,” Don ordered and Loki walked out. However, when Don emerged from the driver’s side, he was pointed a gun at Loki. “Luring me into the middle of nowhere? Think that’s funny. What were you going to do? You’re out of your league, Loki.”

Well, taking it to the next step, it seemed. “Heimdall,” he called towards the sky, “take us to the castle of the beast!”

The familiar grip of the Bifrost captured both him and Don and transported them right in front of the tall gates.

“What…what just happened?” Don got up shakily, still pointing his gun, rather weakly, at Loki.

“Don’t worry about it. But unless you want to get eaten by wolves…” Loki stepped into the gate and Don followed.

“I thought you were crazy. But this is real. So the beast must be,” he stormed ahead of Loki with a look of determination on his face.

 

“Hey, Thor-“

“Leave me in peace.”

“But there’s a man coming to the castle.”

Of course there was a man coming towards the castle. With a gun. How could he have not noticed? Loki must have gotten him to come and kill “the beast.” He couldn’t blame him. He’d kept Loki prisoner. Scared him off. It was what he deserved.

“What should we do?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” he stared down at the faint glowing of Mjolnir. “Just let him come.” It felt like a good day to die, didn’t it? Loki wanted him dead. All hope for him was lost anyways. He just hoped his friends could forgive him for what he’d done.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting there before the door was thrown open. He heard the click of a gun and didn’t even bother to turn his head.

“Don, if you touch him-“

“Shut up, Loki, or I’ll shoot you first.”

This caused Thor to look up. The gun was now pointed at Loki, before the door was slammed in his face and he was locked out of the room. This caused a rage to boil in his chest and he charged on the man. Don shot and hit Thor in the shoulder. It caused him to stumble a bit and Don ran behind him, raising his gun once more, but this time, Thor backhanded him and he landed out on the balcony.

“Were you in love with him, beast?” Don goaded as Thor advanced on him again. “Did you honestly think he’d want you when he had someone like me?”

Thor grabbed Don by the throat. “Get out,” he growled and tossed the man back on the concrete.

“Thor!” Loki was in the room, even though the door remained closed. Thor turned around and hugged Loki gently.

“You came back.”

A gunshot sounded and Thor felt a pain ripping through his stomach. Thor started to fall backwards, knocking both him and Don towards the railings. Don toppled over, but Loki grabbed Thor and pulled him back. He lay Thor gently on the ground, not even concerned about Don’s fate, though he did banish the gun that had landed on the balcony.

Loki leaned over him and ran a hand through his fur. He looked down at the wound and then back up at Thor worriedly. “You came back,” Thor repeated, much quieter this time. He stopped Loki’s hands when they moved to heal him.

“Of course I came back,” Loki replied, staring back at Thor with their hands clasped together. “I had to. I couldn’t- this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have brought him here.”

“It’s- It’s better this way.” Loki was with him – he doubted he’d ever felt this good. Loki had chosen him over that other, normal Midgardian. And perhaps, he just wanted it to end there. He didn’t want to know what came next. He couldn’t bear to see Loki leave again.

“Don’t talk like that. You’ll be all right,” Thor could hear clearly in his voice that Loki didn’t even believe his own words. “We’re together now. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“At least I got to see you once last time,” he felt his vision darken and his hands grew limp in Loki’s and slipped away. As his body slacked, Loki wrapped his arms around him.

“No, please – “ he stared at the limp form of the beast, “please don’t leave me.”

And as the last glow of the hammer faded away, Loki laid his head on the beast’s chest and whispered, “I love you.”

 

It seemed to suddenly begin raining stars. Beams of light shot across the sky and landed around the beast’s prone form. The beast began to glow and rise and Loki backed away quickly. What was happening?

The light was nearly blinding as the beasts claws shrunk and turned into smooth skin. The same thing happened with his feet. Loki watched as the fur and horns disappeared and tanned skin and blond hair appeared. Only last flash of light and the beast was dropped gently to the ground.

Loki made an attempt to approach, but the figure was already rising. He stared at his hands in astonishment before turning towards Loki. He had bright blue eyes, just like the Beast’s, but he was fully Asgardian. He had flowing, golden hair and a handsome face.

“Loki, it’s me.”

Loki didn’t wait. He threw his arms around Thor and pressed his lips against his.

“Thor!” Loki turned quickly to see unfamiliar faces coming out onto the balcony.

“My friends!” Thor said happily and hugged each of them in turn.

“Loki!” The bearded redhead hugged Loki tightly. “You’re much shorter than you seemed.”

“Good to see you less porcelain, Volstagg,” he shook off the strong hug, recognizing the voice easily. The woman was obviously Sif and if he had to make a guess, the blonde was Fandral and the Asian man was Hogun.

Thor looked over at the hammer and then turned to Loki. “Loki, come with me to Asgard?”

“I can’t, Thor. I’ve been trying to tell you I’m a Jotun.”

“Do you think that matters now? I don’t care what you are,” Thor didn’t seem at all swayed. He hadn’t even flinched. “Come with me.”

“But Jane, she needs-“

“We’ll help her. Loki, I can’t watch you leave again,” he took Loki’s hand. “Please come with me to Asgard.”

“I did promise to stay with you forever.”

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the beast


End file.
